VOA即美國之音（The Voice of America，簡稱VOA）。美國之音是一家提供45種語言服務的動態的國際多媒體廣播電臺。
美國批准無人機送貨
By John Russell
01 January 2021
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently said it is issuing long-awaited rules that permit small drones to fly at night and over people. Drones, a kind of small aircraft, fly without a pilot.
美國聯邦航空管理局最近表示，它將發布被期待已久的，允許小型無人機在夜間和人群上空飛行的規定。無人機是一種無需飛行員操縱進行飛行的小型飛機。
The FAA's move is an important step toward the use of drones for large numbers of business deliveries in the United States.
美國聯邦航空管理局此舉是朝著美國使用無人機進行大規模商業運輸邁出的重要一步。
The FAA is also requiring identification of most drones for security and safety reasons.
出於安保和安全考慮，美國聯邦航空管理局還要求大多數無人機提供身份識別。
Deliveries
派送
FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said in a statement that the new rules "get us closer to the day when we will more routinely see drone operations such as the delivery of packages."
美國聯邦航空管理局局長史蒂夫·迪克森在一份聲明中表示，這項新規定「讓我們離更經常看到無人機運輸包裹等操作的那一天更近。」
Packages are boxes or large envelopes that are sent or delivered.
包裹是指派送的箱子或大信封。
Since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, companies have raced to create drone fleets to speed deliveries.
自從新冠病毒危機爆發以來，各公司都競相打造無人機機隊來加快派送速度。
Delivery companies like UPS and Amazon have been investing in the technology for years. Both companies have seen growing profits during the coronavirus pandemic as more Americans turn to home delivery for many products, including groceries.
UPS和Amazon等快遞公司在這項技術上已經投入了很多年。這兩家公司在新冠病毒大流行期間都看到了利潤的增長，因為越來越多美國人都轉向把包括食雜在內的許多商品送貨上門。
The rules also come at a time when drones represent the fastest-growing area in the transportation sector, an FAA Press Release Statement said.
美國聯邦航空管理局發布的聲明稱，這些規定出臺時，也正值無人機成為交通行業發展最快領域的代表。
The statement added that there are over 1.7 million drone registrations and 203,000 FAA-approved remote pilots in the United States.
聲明還稱，美國有超過170萬份無人機註冊信息和20.3萬名獲得美國聯邦航空管理局認證的遠程飛行員。
Safety and Security Concerns
安全和安保問題
For night operations, the FAA said drones must have special lights that help the aircraft avoid accidents. Remote ID, a form of identification, is required for all drones weighing around 250 grams or more. But, it is required for smaller drones in some situations. The Remote ID rule requires drones to broadcast ID messages via radio.
美國聯邦航空管理局表示，對於夜間飛行，無人機必須具備特殊燈光以幫助飛機避免事故。所有重量在250克以上的無人機都需要遠程ID，這是一種身份證明。但是在某些情況下，更小的無人機也需要遠程ID。遠程ID的相關規定要求無人機通過無線電來廣播身份信息。
Companies Seek Approval for Drone Deliveries
各公司尋求無人機派送認證
The FAA's new rules are the latest in a series of policies about drone use for deliveries. In October 2019, United Parcel Service Inc. said that it won the U.S. government's first full approval to operate a drone airline.
美國聯邦航空管理局的這項新規定是一系列關於無人機派送政策中最新出臺的政策。2019年10月，美國聯合包裹服務公司（UPS）表示，它已經率先獲得了美國政府的全面批准，可以運營無人機航空公司。
Last year, Alphabet's Wing, a sister company of search engine Google, was the first to get U.S. air carrier approval for a single-pilot drone operation. In August, Amazon's drone service received federal approval. The approval lets the company begin testing business deliveries through its drone fleet.
去年，Alphabet公司旗下的Wing公司率先獲得了進行單飛行員無人機操作的美國航空承運人認證，Wing公司是搜尋引擎谷歌的姊妹公司。今年8月，亞馬遜公司的無人機服務獲得聯邦批准。該批准使得亞馬遜公司開始測試通過其無人機機隊進行商業交付。
The new FAA rules will become official 60 days after publication next month. Drone manufacturers will have 18 months to begin producing drones with Remote ID, while drone operators have an additional year to begin using drones with Remote ID.
美國聯邦航空管理局的新規定將在下個月公布的60天之後正式生效。無人機製造商將有18個月時間開始生產帶有遠程ID的無人機，而無人機運營商還有更多1年時間開始使用帶有遠程ID的無人機。
I'm John Russell.
我是約翰·拉塞爾。
delivery – n. the act of taking something to a person or place
routinely – adv. done very often
sector – n. an area of an economy : a part of an economy that includes certain kinds of jobs
remote – adj. capable of being controlled from a distance: connected to a computer system from another place:
*內容來源51VOA.COM原創翻譯，侵刪~